One organisation, two identities, four dimensions.

Two Identities:

As an organisation Partners has two identities.  We are both an independent agency and an organisation with core funding from the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration. In both of these capacities we are part of the wider Community and Voluntary Sector in Ireland. In addition to this, as an independent agency we are part of a larger world wide Training for Transformation network.

It is our experience that there is a beneficial reciprocity between our role in the Community Development Programme and our role as an Independent Agency. The work engaged in, in each capacity, is mutually informative and enhancing. It enables us to be aware of what is happening within the Programme and beyond the Programme and to be alert to trends and themes in the wider Community and Voluntary Sector. As part of the wider Training for Transformation network we both contribute and have access to new and emerging resources from a wide variety of sources.

Our dual identity, while challenging, adds a depth of experience and a richness of resources to the way we engage in our work.

PARTNERS Training for Transformation began in 1981, when a number of people working in Ireland and overseas came together to explore the benefits of a community education process which focussed on learning from people's own experiences.

Training for Transformation work is largely influenced by the philosophy of Paolo Freire and the work initiated and developed with people and communities experiencing disadvantage. After nine years as a voluntary group running an annual leadership training programme, PARTNERS became a limited company with charitable status in 1991. In this way a staff of full and part-time workers facilitate courses in the community and voluntary sector.